State senator, NYPGA push for Finger Lakes storage facility approval

Republican state Sen. George Maziarz joined the New York Propane Gas Association (NYPGA) and propane industry leaders at a press conference Tuesday asking the state of New York to take action regarding current propane supply and storage infrastructure.

According to a press release, Maziarz and NYPGA urged the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo to approve storage infrastructure facilities such as the proposed Finger Lakes LP gas storage project. In addition, Maziarz, who is chairman of New York’s Senate Energy Committee, announced that he has introduced legislation that will require the DEC to prioritize proposed fuel storage projects such as the Finger Lakes project within a reasonable timeframe.

NYPGA says Crestwood Midstream’s proposed Finger Lakes storage facility in Reading, N.Y., would create an additional 88.2 million gallons of propane supply – enough capacity to help prevent the propane distribution issues currently facing New York. The Finger Lakes project has been awaiting DEC approval for more than four years, NYPGA adds, and the state’s geologist approved the integrity of the proposed storage caverns almost a year ago.

“New York simply does not have enough propane stored here to prevent price spikes and supply constraints,” says Rick Cummings, incoming NYPGA president and president of Mulhern Gas in Hudson, N.Y. “As a result, New York residents and businesses are paying 40 percent more for energy this winter. Households that rely on propane for heating will pay $377 more to stay safe and warm. That adds up to [an] $84 million cost burden on New Yorkers that could have been avoided if New York had more safe propane storage infrastructure like the Finger Lakes project.”

Joe Rose, president of the Propane Gas Association of New England, adds that approval of the Finger Lakes project is not only a solution for the state of New York but the rest of the Northeast.

What gives Maziarz the right to say what we should do here in the Finger Lakes. The shortage of propane and the price spikes are due to: 1)The reversal of one of the TEPPCO pipelines that would normally bring propane North and instead is transporting ethane from the Marcellus Shale South to the Gulf, reducing supply by 44% and, 2) Skyrocketing exports that have increased by 75% to close to 400 thousand barrels a day. 16 million 800 thousand gallons! The NYPGA is blowing smoke and didn’t think they were going to get caught?? Senator Maziarz, the same salt formation lies under your district, this facility would be a perfect fit for you.